Finding Your Voice Through Mindful Music Lessons

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Welcome to Create Harmony.
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This is a place where we slow down, we breathe a little deeper, and we look to discovering more peace and joy in the rhythms of our everyday life.
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We try to have meaningful conversations with fellow peacemakers.
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We explore simple practices and really live with greater intention.
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We try to notice the beauty that's all around us and we make space for the quiet ways that God may be speaking to each and every one of us.
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So settle in, take a breath, and let's create a little more harmony together.
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Welcome back to the Create Harmony Podcast.
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And I am so excited today.
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Everybody is going to love today's guest.
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Her name is Erica Lee Winstead, and she is a music teacher and founder of the Aria Sanctuary.
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And she was my children's music teacher.
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She's been through some transitions there, but we are we've got so much to talk about about her approach to music and how she helps people discover the music inside of themselves.
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So welcome, Erica.
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Thank you.
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I'm so happy to be here.
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We at Create Harmony are always looking for ways that people pursue peace, the practices and rhythms that they use to find their way towards peace, or sometimes hit or miss get their way towards peace, attempt to find peace.
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So focusing on music seems like a really good next step.
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It might be that some people that that doesn't resonate literally with some people, but all of these different conversations are to highlight something that you might be able to extract out to apply in your own life.
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So I would love it if you would tell us a little bit about your approach as a music teacher.
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Wonderful.
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So I have always, um my school was initially the ARIA School of Music.
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And for years I focused so much on technique and technical skill.
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And I remember when I first started it back in in uh early 2004, that there was a there was a calling that I felt as I would go into my students' homes to be there.
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And it always felt like there was something more than just teaching them about the notes and teaching them how to play for release and all of these um amazing but but very technical things.
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And it kind of has evolved over the past, you know, all of these years into something that I didn't even know was happening.
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And basically I think that is there's a kind of like a golden thread of of peace and of helping the students to find their voice and to find their connection to their their most inner selves.
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And I think that um it's just been, it's been my my pleasure, my my passion, my I feel like my purpose to help them find that.
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And so it's kind of um the RU Sanctuary has evolved from that because now I feel totally, you know, crystal clear on what that what that looks like now.
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And so my approach to teaching is almost 100% from that standpoint of bringing that peace to them.
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That's so beautiful.
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And when we say music, just to be clear for our listeners, you the scope basically is voice and singing.
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It's actually finding their literal voice and also pianos.
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That's right.
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Yes.
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And I know that in the past, when you the first, the earlier iterations of your music school, you did do more performance type things.
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And then in recent years, you've felt this feeling that you needed to make a shift.
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And so now your students have the experience of like instead of focusing solely on performance, their experience is what?
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Tell us a little bit about how you help them highlight their gifts.
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So I think that it's really about working with them through, I definitely incorporate a mindfulness, a little bit of meditation into the lessons, um, just helping them to really feel the music.
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So we'll take a um a contemporary uh piece, like a neoclassical piece, and we'll work on that together.
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And I'll really have them go into their body and just see how the piece makes them feel.
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And I'll take those words, the different things that they share with me, and just really help it to, I guess, expand and become magnified, so that then they're able to create an actual experience through their playing.
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And so when they're practicing, they're not just practicing notes, but they truly are like going into an experience of themselves.
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And then the next level is to then teach them how to take that experience and bring it to an audience.
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So then when they're performing, it's more of a an audience witnessing their own spiritual, if you will, experience.
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So they're not there to um entertain, they're there to really create that experience for the audience, to tap into their own unique presence.
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I love that.
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I love the sacredness of it.
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And I also know that you had shifted some of your recital experiences, which is usually a pretty nervous experience for a student, that you had kind of shifted the tone of those towards this more of a presence experience, more of a sitting with yourself, if you will, and also more of a giving experience, because I think you've had them in places like memory care wards and giving to others through that, through that expression of their gifts.
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Do you want to say a little bit about that?
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Yes.
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So um I had a student that I took to the Senkew house in Chapel Hill, and the the whole intention was to um create a space where uh cancer patients and people who families who are receiving, um, I mean, who are there to support loved ones who are going through chemotherapy and and um healing uh to experience music in a completely different way.
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And um it was it was actually a completely different experience than what we were expecting.
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So physically, no one showed up.
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Um he actually just played, and he and I and my family and his family were there.
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But what we realized what was happening was not only was it giving him an opportunity to really practice that, to practice, okay, this is this is where I'm going into the into myself.
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I'm creating this experience, and I'm allowing God, spirit, the universe to use me to allow this this energy to fill this space.
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And we had many people, the person who was sitting at the front desk, and we even talked about it amongst ourselves that perhaps the music was actually not only, you know, in the space, but that it was actually moving up into the rooms and like energy.
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It was just kind of filling the space with with light, if you will.
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So it still felt very, very powerful.
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Yeah, that and that's such a it's such a a gift to these students to give them a different way to engage with the music and engage with their own gifts and their own spirit.
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I just think that's very special and unique.
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And uh I love the way you do that.
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My children definitely um experienced more of a presence in their own, finding their own music.
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Both of my children are singers and took lessons from Erica in the day.
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And I used to say to them, just let the music come up through you.
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And that was definitely aligned with the way that you were guiding them as their teacher.
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So it's such a such a precious gift versus smile, baby.
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You know, exactly.
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It's just a very different approach, a much more um grounded approach, I think.
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So and speaking of grounded, I I wonder if you can say a little bit more.
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I mean, you are a gifted and talented musician yourself.
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And I would love to hear you speak to the role that music has played in your own life and how that's manifested itself.
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Thank you so much.
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Um, I feel like music has never left me.
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That was a realization that I had not too long ago that it, you know, from as early as I can remember, probably age five, was when I was really watching.
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Um, there was a show called Putting on the Writs.
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And it used to be people that were on there lip singing.
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And I remember thinking, you know, oh, well, this is lip singing.
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Okay, well, maybe I'll just be a lip singer one day.
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You know, I had no idea that I should see this.
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Which would have been a waste because your voice is beautiful.
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Oh, thank you.
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Um, but that I guess that was kind of like the beginning, like where I the opening to just hearing the music and seeing them on stage and being drawn to their, you know, just being fascinated by how they would captivate the audience and connect with them, which then led me to finding my own voice at age 10.
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And um I think that I realized and looking back that, you know, we all go through things, we all have challenging times in our childhood as we grow up, but that music was the thing that never left me.
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It was always the thing I would come back to.
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I would always come back and practice piano, play piano and also flute as well and piccolo.
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And whenever I would do those things or sing, it was such a uh comfort and such a calm and such a guiding light for me that even my parents couldn't give me.
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It was just something that was always there.
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And I really, really, really want that for my students.
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I want them to know that no matter what they're going through in their life, when they connect to music in that way, it will all it never leaves.
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I think that's a really powerful idea because knowing you like I do, I know that you didn't have a perfect childhood like many of us haven't.
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And having music as a tool to reset your spirit is really, really powerful.
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And I know that your students can resonate with that as well.
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And so do you have any tips for people on how they can connect more deeply with music, like ways that people can use music as a sense of centering?
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Yes, yes, definitely.
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I think in particular combining uh nature with music in some way.
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So getting out into nature, whether it's going for a walk, um, and really just putting on something that is very centering, grounded, um, and that's different for every person.
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Um, but I think uh for me, like Native American flute music is very uh creates that sense of connection.
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And so I'll just put that on and walk.
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And I think then it it feels as if then nature is responding to that.
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Even though nature can't, you know, quote unquote hear the music, it's almost as like, it's almost as if it's responding to your vibration.
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So as you're listening to the music and you're becoming more open, you're seeing birds, you're seeing butterflies, you're seeing all of these elemental creatures that are affirming you.
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Yeah.
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I I find that really, I think that's a really inspiring idea for my own self, just to think about find some music that speaks to you, that invokes a feeling.
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And you for you, you said it was Native American flute, but find whatever that is for you and just use it as you are moving through nature to really deepen that connection.
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And I I I really love that.
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I think I might need to, I might need to put that in my practices.
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Speaking of practice, peace practices, I think that could be lovely.
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Um yes, thank you for sharing that.
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And speaking of vibrations, you mentioned the word vibration.
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That'll kind of lead me that happen to know about you, Erica, that you like to chant.
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And when I say chant, some people are like, oh, here, where are we going here?
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But chanting is an ancient form of connecting with spirit.
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I mean, peep Gregorian monks chant, people all over the world chant, people at sporting events chant every single week.
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There are all kinds of chants that they say together all the time, and it's just a sense of like collective vibration.
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And so I know that you, your chant choice is typically the ohm, and I'd love for you to tell us a little bit about what that means.
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Yeah, so om in many uh traditions, and in particular Eastern um religions and paths and traditions is the Sanskrit word for God.
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And so um you it also represents um in more um expanded ways of looking at it as well, is um the as above and the soul below.
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So that you know that as we are here as physical beings on this planet, that the om is kind of like the the center of the heart or the nexus of the cross where the the this plane of matter joins the plane of spirit.
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And so when we're chanting om, we're bringing those two things together.
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And so that can be done um in your own pitch.
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It can be done um high, low, repetitive, but the goal is to just do it until you start to feel that sense of connection, like you're really feeling connected to spirit.
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And and I'd love for you to say a little more about the difference between, you know, a high vibration of ohm or a lower pitch, high pitch, low pitch.
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Yeah, I'd love for you to say a little more about that.
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Yes.
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So I find as a singer, I mean, I'm naturally a a higher singer, um, as as a as a classically trained opera singer.
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Um I found that the higher the vibration, um, because the higher the frequency, um, the the more powerful it can be.
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Um, it can be a little bit intense, I think, um, to s to start off singing super high in a super high pitch, um, because it it will raise your vibrations super, super fast and you know, in a very short amount of time.
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Um, but a lot of people don't like to sing high, so singing, you know, starting to sing low more in a speaking tone is fine as well.
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Um, and then maybe just working your way up to going into a higher, a higher pitch.
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Okay.
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Well, would you be willing to demonstrate an um chant for us?
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Yes.
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Okay.
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Well, you whenever you're ready.
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So I would do that like three times, just you know, full breath in between each one, but a minimum of three times.
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That's so beautiful.
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Your beautiful, clear voice.
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If I if I made that sound, it might not be as peaceful, but um, but it's such a beautiful sound.
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And I know that you've shared some of that on your you have a YouTube channel, Ankara R A L.
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And I'll put that in the show notes so that people want to check that out, they can um use your beautiful sounds to help center their own minds.
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And I think that can be very, very powerful in so many ways.
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And you also, you're such a multifaceted person, you also have used Reiki as a form of healing.
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You are a Reiki healer, and people might not know what Reiki is, so let's start out.
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You tell us what Reiki is.
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So, Reiki, as I everything that I say is as I know it to be true for myself and my own personal training.
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So I'll just preface that.
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Um, you know, say that first.
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So Reiki in simple forms is the transmission of life force energy.
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Okay.
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So life force energy runs through every living thing on the planet, and there are martial arts forms that utilize Reiki.
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Um, Akido, uh Kung Fu, uh Tai Chi, and Qigong, those are the main ones that uh focus on working with and moving and cultivating life force energy.
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Okay.
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I didn't know that.
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I didn't realize that.
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So that's interesting to know.
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So we what you're saying, let me make sure I'm understanding here.
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What you're saying is when you are learning those martial arts, you're using the same life energy that you use in Reiki.
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Is that what you're saying?
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Yes.
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Yes.
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As a form of healing, what more can you tell us about Reiki?
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So the beautiful thing about Reiki is that because it is just life or energy, we all have it.
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So a Reiki practitioner is not giving you anything that doesn't exist within your own body or your own aura or your own energy field.
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It's it's all there.
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Um, it can be used to facilitate healing because the body is so intelligent that it already knows how to heal itself, right?
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We don't know that.
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And so when we're giving Reiki as practitioners, we are sending a heightened, because those symbols, the Reiki symbols have been imbued within us through the forum of getting the certification and the training.
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Then when you give Reiki, you're just um able to radiate that energy at a very high frequency because you have those symbols in your vibration.
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And so um the body will then of the person receiving will then use that energy for healing in whatever way their body needs it.
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So let's say if someone says, Well, I'm, you know, having a back issue, we may not necessarily focus on sending Reiki to your back because there could be a blocked, you know, blocked energy in one of your chakras.
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And so the release of that energy needs to happen first, and that's what's directly, you know, related to the back issue.
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So it's really just about sending Reiki with the intention of the potential for healing, but we're really just vessels for for the light to come through, and the rest is is totally up to the the person and and spirit.
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Okay, so this might be a dumb question, but do you can you give yourself Reiki?
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Is that a possibility?
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Okay, say more about that.
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Yeah, so that is something that most Reiki teachers always encourage their practitioners is to do a one-hour self-treatment on themselves daily.
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Um the attunement, the Reiki symbols very strong, um, but it's we all, you know, everything that we are giving to another, we all need it for ourselves, right?
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Because it's that constant infinity where I can't serve another without them also serving me.
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So it's kind of that that constant.
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And so what does that look like?
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Like if you are going to be the person receiving right, if you were gonna give me Reiki, let's say, what what does that look like?
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So then there's actually uh many different ways that can happen.
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So for me, um, so there's in-person Reiki where I could, you know, I would be with you in person.
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There's also long distance Reiki.
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So let's say if we lived in different states or in different parts of the world, we can you can receive Reiki and it's just as powerful.
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I've received it long distance and had phenomenal experiences with someone who lived in a whole nother state giving it to me.
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Um and then for me, I actually uh do ceremonies where I I kind of use um, I kind of check in with the the person to find out exactly what it is that they would like to experience in their lives.
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Um, and then I kind of curtail an experience for them utilizing, you know, singing, chanting the own uh Reiki.
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And so, for instance, if that were the case, I would envision you being in holy fire.
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So holy fire is one of the um the forms of Reiki.
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There are many different forms.
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So holy fire is one of the ones that I use.
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So it just looks like a flame, and you're just you know in that flame, and I'm sending you um Reiki through that flame.
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And then I also would then send holy fire energy to all of your chakras.
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Okay.
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So and that would help you align yourself with healing.
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Is that what you're saying?
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Yes, okay, emotional healing, physical healing, mental healing.
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Yeah, I love that.
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And so it's just a it's a matter of just the openness that each of us, you the person receiving Reiki and the Reiki healer brings to the Experience that's what I'm hearing you say.
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I mean, the level of openness that you have is going to definitely affect your end result.
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100%.
00:22:12.319 --> 00:22:32.799
And I uh one of the other things that I heard, and correct me if I'm wrong, is it sort of helps you increase your self-awareness about your body because when I heard you say, you know, if I am going to try to give you Reiki, but then there's some sort of blockage, it it's like it helps you discover that okay, this is what is needed instead.
00:22:32.960 --> 00:22:33.440
Yes.
00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:53.440
It's not it's not a substitution for any kind of Western medicine, but it is just a help, uh sort of a nod towards pointing your gaze back at yourself and your own body and gaining deeper awareness of that of what's going on in your own self.
00:22:53.759 --> 00:22:54.400
Yes.
00:22:54.720 --> 00:22:55.039
Okay.
00:22:55.680 --> 00:23:16.799
And they're actually even like I've heard of many, I haven't had the opportunity to do this yet, but a lot of people, um, Reiki practitioners will work with nurses and doctors and hospitals before surgery uh to help the patients to feel a sense of um well-being and just kind of, you know, to center in themselves and not feel as anxious about the upcoming surgery.
00:23:16.880 --> 00:23:27.599
And there's lots of scientific studies that say it makes a tremendous difference in their not only their, you know, preparedness for the surgery, but in their recovery as well.
00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:41.920
I love the fact that you use the term well-being because I do feel like I have a really limited understanding of Reiki, which is probably obvious in my questions, but I think that it is like a well-being art.
00:23:42.079 --> 00:23:49.119
Like it's not necessarily sometimes we're expecting it to be science, and it's it's not necessarily science.
00:23:49.200 --> 00:24:06.880
It's more of a well-being art in the sense that the more aligned you are with yourself, the more you aware you are of your own body and the things that you're holding within that body, and the more at peace and settled your spirit is, the more your body can thrive.
00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:07.680
Yes.
00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:09.279
That's what I'm hearing.
00:24:09.440 --> 00:24:15.920
It's not a matter of like I put my hands out and then somehow some magic, you know, air is gonna get on there and then heal you.
00:24:16.079 --> 00:24:21.519
It's more of a matter of settling the agitation level within your body.
00:24:21.759 --> 00:24:23.680
And yes, absolutely.
00:24:23.839 --> 00:24:25.839
That's 100% accurate.
00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:31.680
It's kind of a shift for me because I I wasn't as clear on what Reiki was until having this conversation.
00:24:31.839 --> 00:24:33.039
So I love learning.
00:24:33.200 --> 00:24:47.519
This is part of why we have all of these conversations is to deepen our understanding of others, to widen and expand our toolkit when it comes to peace, to give me more tools that I could use for myself.
00:24:47.759 --> 00:24:51.039
And I've definitely, this has definitely given me that.
00:24:51.200 --> 00:24:56.559
So this is the point in the conversation that I usually ask my guests if there's anything that we've missed.
00:24:56.720 --> 00:25:04.960
Is there anything that you embody or want to talk about or think would be a good peace practice that we haven't touched on already?
00:25:05.279 --> 00:25:20.799
I think um the I guess just an invitation for anyone listening to be open to receiving Reiki because I think that there's a lot of um, there's a lot of um lack of uh awareness.
00:25:20.960 --> 00:25:27.200
There may even be some fear around it, because I think we are not taught to be intuitive beings.
00:25:27.519 --> 00:25:30.240
That's just not something that we focus on in our culture.
00:25:30.559 --> 00:25:34.880
So there's a lot of like, oh, but what if it's this and what if it's that?
00:25:34.960 --> 00:25:43.680
And I guess just to have an open mind, an open heart, a willingness to just try it, you know.
00:25:44.160 --> 00:25:46.559
Um, because it really is.
00:25:46.720 --> 00:25:53.279
I remember um my mother was the first person who gave me Reiki, and I didn't know what to expect.
00:25:53.440 --> 00:25:57.759
I mean, she had been experiencing it and knew about it for a while.
00:25:58.000 --> 00:26:06.640
Um, and then she became a Reiki master, and then she gave it to me, and I just sat there with my eyes closed and I just sobbed.
00:26:06.720 --> 00:26:07.920
I mean, I just cried.
00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:13.359
And it was all of the stuff that was coming up that I had no idea was even there.
00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:33.599
And so it's again, it's it's so if you just open your heart to it, it just, you know, it can lift so many burdens, it can change so many things within your within your beingness and just clear out energies, clear out all, you know, anything that's not serving you.
00:26:33.839 --> 00:26:39.519
And I just I just feel like it's one of the most powerful, beautiful practices out there.
00:26:39.839 --> 00:26:40.880
I love this description.
00:26:40.960 --> 00:26:50.880
And what it's making me think of is anything can be uplifting if you bring the spirit of God into it.
00:26:51.039 --> 00:26:58.960
It depends, and and anything can also be down, you know, can can be damaging if you bring the wrong spirits into it.
00:26:59.200 --> 00:27:02.000
It's a matter of what you open yourself to.
00:27:02.160 --> 00:27:13.440
And what I'm hearing you describe is that you align yourself with the spirit of God and invite God to touch you in those ways, and therefore it is powerful.
00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:19.440
If if it isn't, if it's a different spirit, then it isn't perhaps not as powerful or maybe damaging.
00:27:19.599 --> 00:27:26.160
Um, so I think that's one of the shifts that people can make that would alleviate the fear.
00:27:26.240 --> 00:27:32.160
You know, you you always can invite God into the spirit of the things that you're using to pursue peace.
00:27:32.720 --> 00:27:33.599
Absolutely.
00:27:33.920 --> 00:27:37.519
And that that's the main, that's the the sticky wicket.
00:27:37.599 --> 00:27:39.039
It's it needs God, you know.
00:27:39.759 --> 00:27:42.000
So I think I love that thought.
00:27:42.160 --> 00:27:43.839
That's a really new thought for me.
00:27:43.920 --> 00:27:45.680
And I I like that description.
00:27:45.839 --> 00:27:48.640
I think that's so powerful and beautiful.
00:27:49.759 --> 00:27:53.920
It's such a sacred um thought process.
00:27:54.079 --> 00:28:09.119
So I think this is so I'm I'm really gonna take away, I can't wait to go into nature with my song and really connect with with nature in that way and think through you know, the things that I'm holding in my own body.
00:28:09.200 --> 00:28:18.480
I've been working with my own body lately and noticing, being very intentional about noticing that I'm holding all sorts of things.
00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:21.759
And I need to let them go because they're not necessarily serving me.
00:28:21.839 --> 00:28:25.680
So this is a very good, it's a helpful conversation for me.
00:28:26.160 --> 00:28:29.839
Um and I appreciate your time and energy towards it.
00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:46.240
Oh, and if you want a last thought, I'll ask you this is there anything that you want to say about where you are sort of going from here with your healing and with your music teaching and you know, all of the the different things that you do to pursue peace?
00:28:46.720 --> 00:28:47.279
Yes.
00:28:47.519 --> 00:29:11.039
So I am combining all of these things in into one, into the Aria Sanctuary, which is a combination of offering voice and piano lessons with that that understanding of centering on one, finding that connection, that deep connection to spirit through music, um, building self-confidence.
00:29:11.200 --> 00:29:28.720
And I think that also, too, I'll say that I think that when that happens, when that sense of connection to the self, to God happens, that then self-confidence and self-esteem and all of those things, stage fright, all of those things kind of um take care of themselves because you know who you are.
00:29:28.880 --> 00:29:31.519
It's like I know who I am when I get up on stage.
00:29:31.759 --> 00:29:36.000
I'm here to be a vessel, I'm here to share love, I'm here to share life.
00:29:36.240 --> 00:29:38.960
And um, so well, and you know you're not alone.
00:29:39.039 --> 00:29:41.759
Like when you bring God into it, you're not alone anymore.
00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:42.240
Yes.
00:29:42.799 --> 00:29:43.359
Nice.
00:29:43.680 --> 00:29:44.319
Yes.
00:29:44.720 --> 00:29:55.759
And so, so that aspect, and then I think also um uh continuing to to sing and to and to use my voice in a way of with the intention of of potential healing.
00:29:56.000 --> 00:30:10.880
And then I think thirdly, um creating a space um in particular for women to continue to find their voice, uh, not just in singing, but finding their true authentic voice is is a big part of what Ankara Ariel is.
00:30:11.039 --> 00:30:17.440
So, yes, that's the goal is to have all three of those things functioning as as one entity.
00:30:17.759 --> 00:30:19.200
That is such a beautiful goal.
00:30:19.279 --> 00:30:24.799
And I my prayer is that you will let that blossom in the beautiful ways that it can.
00:30:24.960 --> 00:30:30.480
And I know that it's gonna bless a lot of people and really be a powerful offering in the world.
00:30:31.039 --> 00:30:40.480
And I thank you for that offering, and I thank you for sharing all of this wisdom with us, and we are so so fortunate to have your wisdom today.
00:30:40.720 --> 00:30:41.519
So thank you.
00:30:41.839 --> 00:30:42.960
Thank you, Sally.
00:30:46.400 --> 00:30:54.559
As you step back into the rhythm of your day, remember that creating harmony and peace does not require big changes.
00:30:54.799 --> 00:30:57.680
It can begin with one small choice.
00:30:57.839 --> 00:31:01.759
Maybe the choice to slow down a little bit, notice what's good.
00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:11.279
Maybe it's just making a little bit more room in your day for joy, or simply being still enough to notice right where God is meeting you.
00:31:12.000 --> 00:31:15.599
Keep making space for peace, play, and possibility.
00:31:15.759 --> 00:31:18.160
And until next time, peace.